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grown old and aged in the tyranny of the nations, you were hiding your old age and antiquity, covering your own gray hairs with the attire of the world, so that you were thought to be a tender and delicate virgin. Hear now, being reproved, how it will be necessary for you to lift up the gray hairs on your head and show your own antiquity to all. But according to Symmachus: 'Cover your ears,' he says, 'uncover your leg, pass over rivers; let your shame be uncovered, for indeed your disgrace has appeared; I will take your vengeance, and no man will stand against me.' These things according to Symmachus, by which the word effects a certain leading away to a foreign land and a captivity, as it were, under enemies and foes for her who is here enslaved. And from the comparison of these, our own reading will be clarified. For instead of: 'I will take what is just from you, I will no longer hand you over to men,' Symmachus says: 'I will take vengeance, and no man will stand against me.' And instead of: 'The one who delivered you, the Lord Sabaoth,' Aquila: 'Our redeemer is the Lord;' and Symmachus: 'Our redeemer is the Lord of powers;' and Theodotion: 'The one redeeming us is the Lord of powers, his name is the Holy One of Israel.' For these things, he says, our Lord has decreed against you, 'redeeming us' and freeing us from the misery under you. Therefore he says: 'Sit down, pierced through,' or according to Symmachus, 'in silence,' you who were formerly lifted up and boastful, who commanded the other nations as if they were servants, and as if repenting for what you have done, and pierced in soul. Sit down humbly on the ground itself, or if you are able, hide yourself and give yourself over to darkness, so that you may not be disgraced. Then according to Symmachus it is said: 'For you will no longer be called mistress of kingdoms.' I was angry with my people, I profaned my inheritance. And I, for the sake of just discipline and conversion, delivered my own people into your hands to chasten them, but you acted excessively and beyond what was necessary, showing no humanity as toward fellow sufferers. And the rest, being clearer, describes the pride of the Chaldean kingdom and the arrogance of the men who ruled among them, how they ascribed to themselves immortal power and that they would have an indestructible dominion. But at one and the same time, he says, both the loss of a husband and the destruction of children will come upon you; of a husband, the one ruling in you, and of children, those who will be ruled by you. And these things will come upon you suddenly, so that you are shown to be both a widow and childless; and these things will happen to you, not only because of what has been said before, but also because of the multitude of your sorceries and your incantations, in which you have hope and exult, all but saying: 'I am, and there is no other.' And instead of: 'Know that the understanding of these things will be,' Symmachus says: 'And this knowledge of yours has deceived you, for which reason you said in your heart, "I am, and there is no other besides me."' But when the wrath from God has come upon you, use the incantations and the sorceries to which you are accustomed, if perhaps you might obtain help; for these were your lessons, which you learned from ancient times and from your youth. And it is possible to know from the writing of Daniel how certain 'magicians' and 'Gazarenes' and 'sorcerers' and those skilled and 'wise' in these and such things excelled among the Chaldeans who inhabited Babylon. And they were well-regarded by the king, as if the kingdom were being set aright through them; but since they were occupied not only with sorceries and incantations, but were also greatly proud of their knowledge of mathematical theorems, professing to know heavenly things and the movements of the 'stars,' and the results from these, and to use these things at the present opportune time, so that you might learn the things that are about to befall you. But there will be no one able to declare the future from their theory; for especially

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χρόνοις παλαιωθεῖσα καὶ καταγηράσασα ἐν τῇ τῶν ἐθνῶν κατατυράννιδι ἀπέκρυπτες τὸ γῆρας καὶ τὴν παλαιότητα ἐγκαλύπτουσα τὰς σαυτῆς πολιὰς τῇ τοῦ κόσμου περιβολῇ ὡς νομίζεσθαί σε παρθένον ἁπαλὴν καὶ τρυφερὰν εἶναι. ἄκουε νῦν ἐλεγχομένη ὡς δεήσει σε τὰς ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς πολιὰς ἀνασῦραι καὶ τοῖς πᾶσι τὴν σαυτῆς ἐνδείξασθαι παλαιότητα. κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· κάλυψαί φησιν ὦτα, ἀποκάλυψαι κνήμην, πάρελθε ποταμούς· ἀποκαλυφθήτω ἡ αἰσχύνη σου, καὶ γὰρ ἐφάνη τὸ ὄνειδός σου· ἐκδίκησίν σου λήψομαι, καὶ οὐκ ἀντιστήσεται ἐν ἐμοὶ ἄνθρωπος. ταῦτα κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, δι' ὧν ἀπαγωγήν τινα τὴν ἐπ' ἀλλοδαπῆς χώρας καὶ ὥσπερ αἰχμαλωσίαν τὴν ὑπ' ἐχθροῖς καὶ πολεμίοις ὁ λόγος ἀποτελεῖ τῇδε δουλωμένῃ. ἐκ δὲ τῆς τούτων παραθέσεως καὶ ἡ παρ' ἡμῖν ἀνάγνωσις σαφηνισθήσεται. ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ· τὸ δίκαιον ἐκ σοῦ λήψομαι, οὐκέτι μὴ παραδῶ ἀνθρώποις, ὁ Σύμμαχος· ἐκδίκησίν φησι λήψομαι, καὶ οὐκ ἀντιστήσεταί μοι ἄνθρωπος. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· ὁ ῥυσάμενός σε, κύριος σαβαώθ, Ἀκύλας· ἀγχιστεύων ἡμῶν κύριος, ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος· λυτρωτὴς ἡμῶν κύριος δυνάμεων, ὁ δὲ Θεοδοτίων· ὁ λυτρούμενος ἡμᾶς κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων, ὄνομα αὐτῷ ἅγιος Ἰσραήλ. Ταῦτα γάρ φησι κατὰ σοῦ ὥρισεν ὁ ἡμέτερος κύριος «λυτρούμενος ἡμᾶς» καὶ ἐλευθερῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπὸ σὲ ταλαιπωρίας. διό φησιν· Κάθισον κατανενυγμένη, ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον σιωπῶσα, ἡ πάλαι ἐπαιρομένη καὶ μεγαλαῦχος, ἡ ὡς οἰκέταις προστάσσουσα τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσι καὶ ὥσπερ μεταμελομένη, ἐφ' οἷς ἔπραξας, καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν κατανενυγμένη. κάθισον ἐν αὐτῷ ἐδάφει ταπεινή, ἢ εἰ δυνατὴ τυγχάνεις, ἀπόκρυψον σαυτὴν καὶ σκότῳ παράδος, ἵνα μὴ ἀσχημονῇς. εἶτα κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον εἴρηται· οὐκέτι γὰρ κληθήσῃ δέσποινα βασιλειῶν. ὠργίσθην κατὰ τοῦ λαοῦ μου, ἐβεβήλωσα τὴν κληρονομίαν μου. κἀγὼ μὲν κατὰ τὸ δίκαιον παιδείας ἕνεκεν καὶ ἐπιστροφῆς εἰς τὰς σὰς χεῖρας παρέδωκα τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ λαὸν σωφρονίζων αὐτόν, σὺ δὲ ἐκ περιττοῦ καὶ τοῦ δέοντος ἔπραξας πλέον οὐδὲν φιλάνθρωπον ὡς πρὸς ὁμοιωπαθεῖς ἐνδειξαμένη. Καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ δὲ σαφέστερα ὄντα τὸ ὑπερήφανον τῆς τῶν Χαλδαίων βασιλείας διαγράφει καὶ τὴν ἀλαζονείαν τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς βασιλευσάντων ἀνδρῶν, ὅπως τε ὑπέγραφον ἑαυτοῖς ἀθάνατον κράτος καὶ ἀκαθαίρετον ἕξειν τὴν ἀρχήν. ἀλλ' ὑφ' ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν ἥξει ἐπὶ σέ φησι καὶ ἀνδρὸς στέρησις καὶ τέκνων ἀπώλεια, ἀνδρὸς μὲν τοῦ ἐν σοὶ βασιλεύοντος, τέκνων δὲ τῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ βασιλευθησομένων. ἀθρόως δὲ ταῦτα ἥξει ἐπὶ σὲ ὡς καὶ χήραν καὶ ἄτεκνον ἀποδειχθῆναί σε· ταῦτα δὲ σοὶ συμβήσεται, οὐ διὰ τὰ προλεχθέντα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν φαρμακειῶν σου καὶ τῶν ἐπαοιδῶν σου, ἐφ' οἷς τὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχουσα ἀγαυριᾷς μονουχὶ λέγουσα· Ἐγώ εἰμι, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἑτέρα. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· γνῶθι ἡ σύνεσις τούτων ἔσται, ὁ Σύμμαχος· καὶ ἡ γνῶσίς σού φησιν αὕτη ἐξηπάτησέ σε, διὸ εἶπας ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου Ἐγώ εἰμι, καὶ οὐχ ὑπάρχει μετ' ἐμὲ ἔτι. Ἀλλ' ἐπελθούσης σοι τῆς ἐκ θεοῦ ὀργῆς χρῆσαι ταῖς ἐπαοιδαῖς καὶ ταῖς φαρμακείαις, αἷς εἴωθας εἴ πως ἄρα βοηθείας τεύξῃ· ταῦτα γὰρ ἦν σοῦ τὰ μαθήματα, ἃ ἐμάνθανες ἐξ ἀρχείων χρόνων καὶ ἐκ νεότητός σου. ἔστι δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ γραφῆς γνῶναι, ὅπως διέπρεπον παρὰ τοῖς Χαλδαίοις τοῖς τὴν Βαβυλῶνα κατοικοῦσι «μάγοι» τινὲς καὶ «γαζαρηνοὶ» καὶ «φάρμακοι» καὶ οἱ περὶ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα δεινοί τε καὶ «σοφοί». καὶ εὐδοκίμουν παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ ὡς δι' αὐτῶν κατορθουμένης τῆς βασιλείας, ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ μὴ μόνον φαρμακείαις καὶ ἐπαοιδίαις ἐσχόλαζον, ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν μαθηματικῶν θεωρημάτων γνώσει μέγα ἐφρόνουν τὰ οὐράνια ἐπίστασθαι ἐπαγγελλόμενοι καὶ «τῶν ἀστέρων» τὰς κινήσεις, τά τε ἐκ τούτων ἀποτελέσματα καὶ τούτοις ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος χρῆσαι κατὰ καιρόν, ὡς ἂν μάθοις τὰ μέλλοντά σε διαλήψεσθαι. ἀλλ' οὐδεὶς ἔσται ὁ δυνησόμενος ἐκ τῆς τούτων θεωρίας τὸ μέλλον ἐξειπεῖν· μάλιστα γὰρ